Val - I hope your husband is feeling better. It is tough to make big voluntary lifestyle changes when life throws curveballs like that. I had the last test for my Crohn's workup yesterday. I really hope that I "passed", but I feel awful and had some inflammatory markers in my latest round of blood work. We might be subtitling next year's weight loss buddies thread "kicking Crohn's in the butt" because that is what we are going to do.

Val - I hope your husband is feeling better. It is tough to make big voluntary lifestyle changes when life throws curveballs like that. I had the last test for my Crohn's workup yesterday. I really hope that I "passed", but I feel awful and had some inflammatory markers in my latest round of blood work. We might be subtitling next year's weight loss buddies thread "kicking Crohn's in the butt" because that is what we are going to do.

Hi All, I think it is time to wrap this up for the holidays. I will start up a new group around Jan 1. Have a wonderful holiday! This has been fun, and I hope it has been helpful for you. I am back down to 142 and on a healthy workout schedule. I hope you are all well.

Hi All, I think it is time to wrap this up for the holidays. I will start up a new group around Jan 1. Have a wonderful holiday! This has been fun, and I hope it has been helpful for you. I am back down to 142 and on a healthy workout schedule. I hope you are all well.

Flori - it is good to hear from you again! This week is a major challenge for anyone trying to get health or lose weight. I try to limit my cheating to Thursday and behave the rest of the week. It works sometimes... I expect to mess up this time of year, but I try to limit my bad choices to things that are totally worth it. Congrats on cutting out the soda! There is sometimes a silver lining in getting sick. I hope you get some good news about the cyst on your kidney. It sounds like it could be good news if removing it could help get your BP under control. Let us know how your appointment goes next week.

I have met my workout goals for the past three week, and I am really happy about that. I had to take today off and an extra easy day last week because my stomach is really awful. I am going to try to get in six workouts this week anyway. My in-laws will be here, which makes it tougher to make time for exercise. I need to learn how to fit it in when we have houseguests.

Flori - it is good to hear from you again! This week is a major challenge for anyone trying to get health or lose weight. I try to limit my cheating to Thursday and behave the rest of the week. It works sometimes... I expect to mess up this time of year, but I try to limit my bad choices to things that are totally worth it. Congrats on cutting out the soda! There is sometimes a silver lining in getting sick. I hope you get some good news about the cyst on your kidney. It sounds like it could be good news if removing it could help get your BP under control. Let us know how your appointment goes next week.

I have met my workout goals for the past three week, and I am really happy about that. I had to take today off and an extra easy day last week because my stomach is really awful. I am going to try to get in six workouts this week anyway. My in-laws will be here, which makes it tougher to make time for exercise. I need to learn how to fit it in when we have houseguests.

Hi everyone! Sorry I haven't been around, I've been a bad kid. The holidays are stressful for me (good and bad stressful, I think) and I haven't spend much time online catching up with everyone here. I am so tired everyday after work that I just curl up in bed next to hubs (who is usually sleeping since he works overnight) and nap with him. No exercise for me!

I weighed myself last week and was nearly the same as I was a few weeks ago.. 204ish. I guess I will weigh in on Sunday before the Thanksgiving fun begins.

Good news on the diet front- I got really sick on 10/30- really feverish and stayed that way all of Halloween. The next day at a scheduled doc appt, he checked my throat and saw that I had a pretty nasty tonsil infection and prescribed me some antibiotics. Anyway, since I really hate having soda when I have a sore throat I haven't had any since October 30. Little win for me. Oh, also I've cut my coffee to almost purely decaf when I have it and have switched to an unsweetened tea from Starbucks when I indulge myself there.

Bad news on the health front- At that same doctor's appointment on 11/1 he was talking to me about my bp and he mentioned that I am on A LOT of medication, which I think I am too. I told him that I kinda feel like it might not even be enough because I'll have days when it gets pretty high (130-140/90s). He asked me if I had ever had my kidneys checked and I said that all of my bloodwork has come back with normal kidney function. He decided to refer me to a specialist anyway and wanted me to have an ultrasound done on all of my "systems" so I went in on 11/8. I figured all they'd find was a gallstone (they found one when I was pregnant with Gracie) but when I turned to see the screen as she was checking my left kidney I saw a black blip on the screen. I asked "Is that a cyst?" and she said yes very nonchalantly. I know they aren't supposed to discuss their findings with the patients so I didn't press her for more.

I couldn't get an appointment with the nephrologist until 11/29 so I've been freaking myself out. Googling is a bad thing! I couldn't even get a follow-up with my PCP until 12/6, so I figured I'd just talk to him about everything then. I am hoping that since they weren't like "GET IN HERE NOW" it's nothing major, but it's still scary. I don't want to be 31 with cancer and no baby.

The only bright side is that I read that kidney cysts are 1)sometimes completely irrelevant in a person's life and they can live with them and not have any ill effects and 2)they sometimes cause high bp, which, if they could get rid of the one I have and my bp normalizes without or with less medication, would be so amazing. My husband said something to the effect of "how awesome would it be if they drained the cyst and your bp went to normal and you got pregnant again and everything was okay?". Fingers crossed.

Hi everyone! Sorry I haven't been around, I've been a bad kid. The holidays are stressful for me (good and bad stressful, I think) and I haven't spend much time online catching up with everyone here. I am so tired everyday after work that I just curl up in bed next to hubs (who is usually sleeping since he works overnight) and nap with him. No exercise for me!

I weighed myself last week and was nearly the same as I was a few weeks ago.. 204ish. I guess I will weigh in on Sunday before the Thanksgiving fun begins. :shock:

Good news on the diet front- I got really sick on 10/30- really feverish and stayed that way all of Halloween. The next day at a scheduled doc appt, he checked my throat and saw that I had a pretty nasty tonsil infection and prescribed me some antibiotics. Anyway, since I really hate having soda when I have a sore throat I haven't had any since October 30. Little win for me. :) Oh, also I've cut my coffee to almost purely decaf when I have it and have switched to an unsweetened tea from Starbucks when I indulge myself there.

Bad news on the health front- At that same doctor's appointment on 11/1 he was talking to me about my bp and he mentioned that I am on A LOT of medication, which I think I am too. I told him that I kinda feel like it might not even be enough because I'll have days when it gets pretty high (130-140/90s). He asked me if I had ever had my kidneys checked and I said that all of my bloodwork has come back with normal kidney function. He decided to refer me to a specialist anyway and wanted me to have an ultrasound done on all of my "systems" so I went in on 11/8. I figured all they'd find was a gallstone (they found one when I was pregnant with Gracie) but when I turned to see the screen as she was checking my left kidney I saw a black blip on the screen. I asked "Is that a cyst?" and she said yes very nonchalantly. I know they aren't supposed to discuss their findings with the patients so I didn't press her for more.

I couldn't get an appointment with the nephrologist until 11/29 so I've been freaking myself out. Googling is a bad thing! I couldn't even get a follow-up with my PCP until 12/6, so I figured I'd just talk to him about everything then. I am hoping that since they weren't like "GET IN HERE NOW" it's nothing major, but it's still scary. I don't want to be 31 with cancer and no baby. :(

The only bright side is that I read that kidney cysts are 1)sometimes completely irrelevant in a person's life and they can live with them and not have any ill effects and 2)they sometimes cause high bp, which, if they could get rid of the one I have and my bp normalizes without or with less medication, would be so amazing. My husband said something to the effect of "how awesome would it be if they drained the cyst and your bp went to normal and you got pregnant again and everything was okay?". Fingers crossed.

Good luck at your gastro appointment. I had to go on meds at the end of the summer, and it was really helpful. I would really like to get off, but I can't quite do it. Sweet potatoes work well for me too. I hope you can find something that works for you!

A late check in for this weekLoss: -0.5 lbs (145.5)I didn't eat as well as I could have, but I did meet my workout goals. I am going to try for five workouts this week again. We will see how it goes.

Good luck at your gastro appointment. I had to go on meds at the end of the summer, and it was really helpful. I would really like to get off, but I can't quite do it. Sweet potatoes work well for me too. I hope you can find something that works for you!

A late check in for this weekLoss: -0.5 lbs (145.5)I didn't eat as well as I could have, but I did meet my workout goals. I am going to try for five workouts this week again. We will see how it goes.

I haven't tried eating them, but I might like them. I love sweet potatos and don't know why I don't eat them move LOL I'm heading back to the gastro doc on Wednesday, so we will see if some needs meds help.

I haven't tried eating them, but I might like them. I love sweet potatos and don't know why I don't eat them move LOL I'm heading back to the gastro doc on Wednesday, so we will see if some needs meds help.

Hi Val - Sorry the storm and your stomach threw you off the wagon. Are you guys ok now? I gain weight when my stomach acts up too. It stinks when junk is the only thing that really works for you, but it passes. Good luck getting back to a healthy diet and exercise plan. It doesn't matter how many times you fall off the wagon, as long as you get back on it quickly.

If you are looking for healthy things to eat, can you tolerate butternut or other winter squashes? I just started eating them again, and it seems to be really helping my stomach. Squashes have to be really well cooked, but they help me get away with eating other things that would normally be really bad (popcorn and apples).

Hi Val - Sorry the storm and your stomach threw you off the wagon. Are you guys ok now? I gain weight when my stomach acts up too. It stinks when junk is the only thing that really works for you, but it passes. Good luck getting back to a healthy diet and exercise plan. It doesn't matter how many times you fall off the wagon, as long as you get back on it quickly.

If you are looking for healthy things to eat, can you tolerate butternut or other winter squashes? I just started eating them again, and it seems to be really helping my stomach. Squashes have to be really well cooked, but they help me get away with eating other things that would normally be really bad (popcorn and apples).

Totally feel off the wagon because of the storm and having tons of junk food in the house. Plus my stomach has been acting up, which makes me hunger when it calms down... so I need to start AGAIN... sigh!

Totally feel off the wagon because of the storm and having tons of junk food in the house. Plus my stomach has been acting up, which makes me hunger when it calms down... so I need to start AGAIN... sigh!

Hi Ladies - It is getting lonely in here. I hope you all are well. Were any of you in the path of the hurricane? I did a little stress eating worrying about my parents, but they stayed safe and escaped major damage. I had a mixed week. I met my workout goals (5 workouts) with one walk, two runs, a yoga class, and one elliptical/lifting trip to the gym. I also celebrated Halloween. I love candy, and it will be the end of me. This is also my weight gaining week of the month, so I hope this is temporary. Either way, no more candy for me.

Weight: 146.0Gain: 1.6 lbs (BOOO)

Goal for next week: five more workouts and losing a little weight.

Hi Ladies - It is getting lonely in here. I hope you all are well. Were any of you in the path of the hurricane? I did a little stress eating worrying about my parents, but they stayed safe and escaped major damage. I had a mixed week. I met my workout goals (5 workouts) with one walk, two runs, a yoga class, and one elliptical/lifting trip to the gym. I also celebrated Halloween. I love candy, and it will be the end of me. This is also my weight gaining week of the month, so I hope this is temporary. Either way, no more candy for me.